Michael Owen believes two ‘unbelievable’ Liverpool players have surprised Klopp and changed his plans

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Michael Owen believes two Liverpool players have seriously surprised Jurgen Klopp and changed his future plans. The Reds have certainly shaken things up.

Liverpool saw off Benfica in the UEFA Champions League tonight – a massive result that puts them into the semi-finals. They’ll now face Villarreal, after their shock victory over Bayern Munich this week.

What was particularly impressive about this one, though, was Jurgen Klopp rotating his Liverpool side heavily. There were seven changes from the weekend’s draw at Manchester City – with both goalscorers in the 3-1 win among them.

Ibrahima Konate scored, as he did in the first leg, but it was Roberto Firmino who really stole the show. His brace was the difference here – not bad from a player who isn’t starting all that much anymore.

The Brazilian only has nine Premier League starts to his name, after all, as competition for places is so fierce. Firmino frequently finds himself behind Diogo Jota in the pecking order, for instance, but Michael Owen isn’t so sure that was the plan.

He believes that Klopp is surprised by two new signings and that they’ve altered things.

Liverpool players surprise Jurgen Klopp

“I don’t think Jurgen Klopp expected the two players that he brought in to hit the ground running like they have – Jota and [Luis] Diaz,” Owen told BT Sport. “They’ve just been unbelievable.

“What we’ve got is three players in Firmino, [Mohamed] Salah and [Sadio] Mané that are all at a similar age. And I think he possibly saw these three being the main men for another year or two.

“But the way the two others have come into the team has meant that [Firmino] isn’t playing as much.”

Owen is absolutely right but the real shock has been that Jota is as good as he is as a centre-forward. While it was clear he should play there, the no.20 primarily played as a winger for Wolves. His transformation into a goal-poaching striker really shook things up at Anfield.

And Firmino is the one to pay for that. Injuries certainly haven’t helped – and we maintain that he offers things Jota simply can’t – but the Brazilian certainly sits out more than anyone else. It has been a surprise but as we saw tonight, Firmino will still impact games at the highest level when Liverpool need him.